Powers/Abilities: Doctor Doom used alien technology
of unknown origin to give Marsha Rosenberg the ability to shift her body
into ionized plasma. Basically becoming the heart of a living star,
Volcana can generate intense thermal energy, up to 5000 degrees
Fahrenheit. This aura of heat protects her from most projectiles. She
can fire blasts to up to 40 yards hot enough to effortlessly melt giant
constructs to slag. For a time, she was imbued with a fragment of the
Molecule Man's powers which gave her the subconscious ability to solve
her emotional distress through whatever means possible. At around the
same time, she discovered she could change into two forms related to her
regular plasma appearance: One was a dense, rock form that increased her
durability and strength, while the other was a volcanic ash form that
allowed her to turn into a sentient sooth cloud. With her Molecule Man
granted powers, she could lift at least 50 tons. He has long since taken
these powers back, if she has retained her alternate forms remains to be
seen. Above all, Volcana is a stalwart friend to the meek and helpless,
ever ready to reach out with love and understanding to those in need.
Easy going, loyal and somewhat simple-minded, Marsha can lash out
violently if she feels their loved ones are threatened. Her innate
tendency to overeat increases during times of stress.

Height: 6'5"Weight: 210 lbs.Eyes: BlueHair: Black

History:
(She-Hulk III#10 (fb) ) - Marsha Rosenberg grew up a Jewish
and obese girl in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. With her size and
religion making her a bit of an odd duck, she befriended fellow outcast
Mary "Skeeter" MacPherran who longed to be popular, but was ignored
because she was raised in abject poverty. Mary and Marsha became fast
friends, even though Marsha was content with the life she had and didn't
share Mary's dreams of wealth, fame and acclaim.

After witnessing the new Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter)
take down the Man-Bull (William Taurens) in her town, Mary told the
slightly gullible Marsha that she was in fact the new heroine. Unable to
keep her friend's secret, Marsha was responsible for spreading the rumor
that "Skeeter" was Spider-Woman. Mary remained unaware of what Marsha
had wrought, until their rich, popular classmate Vanessa Ashwood invited
the girls to her family's annual ball. During the ball, the Beyonder
removed the Denver suburb they lived in and made it part of his
patchwork planet Battleworld. When the real Spider-Woman swung by in
time to save one of the guests from being crushed by a falling ornament,
Mary's lies became apparent to everyone.

Chased off by Vanessa and the others, Marsha and Mary hid
in the woods where they were discovered by Victor von Doom who offered
to make them powerful.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#3) - Doctor Doom planned
to empower Marsha and Mary by utilizing an alien contraption that
channeled the electrical energy of a massive thunderstorm over Doombase.

(Marvel Superheroes
Secret Wars I#3 - BTS) - While Mary jumped at the chance to become
more powerful, Marsha insisted she'd still be able to return to her
human form. Though cumbersome, Doom promised her this would still be
possible.

(Fantastic Four Annual I#23 (fb) - BTS) -
Unbeknownst to Marsha and Mary, Doctor Doom had secretly implanted
them with a series of sensors during his initial examination of their
bodies. Through them, he could monitor and track their every move.

(Marvel
Superheroes Secret Wars I#3) - With Marsha and Mary strapped into the
machine, Doom flipped the switch and encouraged the young women to
embrace the power they were being subjected to, if not it would destroy
them. Doom was delighted to see the procedure resulted in two new
super-powered operatives. While Mary chose the name Titania to reflect
her newfound super-strength, Marsha's choice for a codename was Volcana.
She was thrilled to find she was still able to shift back to her human
form. Doom provided both of them with appropriate costumes and then
introduced Volcana and Titania to the other supervillains gathered at
Doombase.

Volcana noticed she had an instant rapport with Molecule
Man (Owen Reece). She admitted she had always wanted to meet him and
that he seemed somewhat different in person. Expecting a joke about his
lack of height, Molecule Man was pleasantly surprised when Marsha meant
that she felt the powerful villain was far more sensitive in real life.
The two then had an extended conversation about how Reece viewed the
world strictly as interacting sets of molecules.

After the storm that helped power her had passed, Volcana
joined Doom's forces in an all-out surprise attack on the heroes'
stronghold. In her first outing as a superpowered being, Marsha managed
to surprise She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), blasting her with plasma and
burying her under a heavy pile of melted machinery.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#4) - Volcana fawned over
Molecule Man after he used his powers to destroy the heroes' base with a
wave of his hand. However, Doctor Octopus spotted the heroes trying to
escape in the distance. In an attempt to impress Volcana, the Molecule
Man raised a mountain range and dropped it on his unsuspecting enemies.
She joined the other villains in congratulating Reece, but stood back
when they fought and apparently killed Thor when the Asgardian
teleported in with the Enchantress at his side.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#5) - Volcana and the
Molecule Man spent a lot of time together as Owen shared his life's
tragedies with the sympathetic Marsha. When they passed the Wrecking
Crew and the Absorbing Man, Piledriver made several derogatory remarks
about the couple. At first, Marsha was ready to lash out, but Owen told
her to follow his therapists' advice and just let it go. However, when
Piledriver offended Volcana directly, she gave him a slap in the face
while Molecule Man turned his costume into metal, causing him to fall
face first in the mud. For good measure, Volcana stomped his face in the
dirt, while her friend Titania watched from a distance, wondering what
Marsha gets out of mothering "that little wimp". Molecule Man then
created a flying chariot and flew off with Volcana.

Later, Volcana joined the other villains in an attack on
the heroes, moments after they had dealt with one of Galactus'
servitors. The heroes would have been defeated, if not for the timely
arrival of the X-Men and Magneto who helped fight Doom's men off.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#6 - BTS) - Using the
distraction created by his men attacking the heroes, Doom had managed to
access Galactus' worldship in orbit over Battleworld. Hoping to learn
more about the devourer and increase his own power, Doom discovered Klaw
(Ulysses Klaw) on board, the sonic villain had been stuck inside the
vessel after a recent fight against Dazzler. Even though the experience
severely unhinged him mentally, Klaw swore allegiance to Doom.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#6) - While Doom
continued his investigation of Galactus' ship, he sent Klaw to Doombase
with instructions. Marsha, Mary and the other villains watched on as the
babbling Klaw appeared in their midst. Uttering the special password ("Ukase Doom Rex") the Doctor had
installed in Ultron XI to guarantee the robot's loyalty, Ultron now
obeyed Klaw and stood ready to enforce whatever command the master of
sound deemed necessary. Titania was in no mood to take orders from a
"bolt-brain", but Volcana urged her to keep quiet, after all the robot
had already killed Kang.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#6 -BTS) - Acting on
orders from Doom, the Molecule Man, Titania, Absorbing Man and Doctor
Octopus were sent to ignite a chain of dormant volcanoes spanning a
continent. Doom figured this would prevent Galactus from consuming the
planet any time soon. However, the X-Men opposed them and during the
fight, Molecule Man was seriously injured by Wolverine. The villains
barely managed to escape.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#7) - Monitoring their
mission from Doombase, Volcana freaked when she saw "her Owen" was hurt.
She immediately rushed to the Enchantress, requesting to be teleported
to Reece. Amora told her she had little interest in wasting energy
transporting "a body as bloated as yours". When Marsha continued to beg
and promised to do anything, Enchantress granted her wish with a sly
grin, assuring her she would soon regret those rash words.

Volcana appeared in the shuttle, to the surprise of
Titania and the others. Mary couldn't believe her friend had struck a
deal with the Enchantress, but Marsha told her to shut up while she
mothered over Owen. Not too long after that, Dr. Octopus noticed their
shuttle was being followed and fired upon by the X-Men. After their ship
was shot down, Volcana carried the unconscious Molecule Man out of the
craft before joining the others in their assault on the mutants. Volcana
tried to blast Storm, who proved too maneuverable, but she did manage to
hit Wolverine in retaliation for the feral X-Man lobbing off one of
Absorbing Man's arms. Volcana was the first to realize the two parties
were too evenly matched and called for a strategic retreat. Creating a
diversion by going all-out, Volcana made sure Owen and the others
boarded one of the X-Men's ships before joining them.

Safely arriving at Doombase, Volcana urged Doctor Octopus to help the
wounded Molecule Man figuring he was a medical doctor. Octavius informed
her he was actually a nuclear physicist and altogether uninterested in the
question whether Reece lived or died. When Ultron proved equally useless,
the Enchantress taunted her by claiming she could easily cure him... for a
price, and Volcana had already bargained away everything she had to offer.
Titania stopped her friend from strangling the Asgardian and sent her to
look after her lover. Titania then threatened the Enchantress to quit
these games and help Reece, or she'd tear off Amora's leg and stuff it
down her throat.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#8) - Volcana was in the infirmary
tending to the Molecule Man's injuries when the heroes started their
assault on Doombase, in retaliation for the villains apparently killing
She-Hulk and the Wasp. Volcana swore to the barely conscious Owen that
she'd kill anyone who dared enter the infirmary, especially "that
Wolverine guy who cut you".

Moments before the battle reached the infirmary, the Molecule Man came to
and offered to help Volcana out. He shielded them both while she blasted
Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic. Reed dodged the blast, but the sheer heat
burned out the Iron Man armor. Bloodthirsty, Volcana told Reece to create
a "gun port" inside his field so she could vaporize her foe. Mr. Fantastic
snatched Iron Man away moments before her blast would hit. Just then,
Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) used her intangible lightform to penetrate
the protective dome, causing Volcana to surrender as long as Reece
wouldn't be harmed further.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#9 - BTS) - Volcana and the other
defeated villains were locked up in the prisons below Doombase. However,
Doctor Doom managed to free himself and used Klaw's body to craft a series
of lenses that drew the cosmic power Galactus had tried to absorb by
devouring his worldship into Doom.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#10 - BTS) - After seeing the energy
wave of Galactus' worldship heading towards Doombase, the heroes rushed
there to see what was going down. They found Volcana and the other
villains still under lock and key, while the head of Klaw told them Doom
had absorbed Galactus' might and was now fighting the Beyonder. The
cataclysmic struggle severely weakened Battleworld, causing massive
earthquakes that forced the heroes to release the villains from their
cells for fear of having them die in there. As the band of baddies took
off in one direction, Doctor Doom appeared before the heroes to reveal the
war was over.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#11) - The villains looked on from a
distance as Doom conversed with the heroes and reached the conclusion
their former leader had just sold them out. Doubting Doom's intentions
herself, Volcana still tried to calm the enraged Molecule Man who felt
betrayed by von Doom's actions. But even Molecule Man's massive powers
didn't phase or anger Doom. Instead, Doom showed Reece the full potential
of his abilities and how he had unknowingly been limiting himself all this
time. Enlightened, Reece realized he could do anything. His confidence
renewed and with Marsha at his side, he announced he would be leading the
villains home. His first task as leader was finding food and shelter
following the destruction of Doombase. Marsha offered to put everyone up
at her place. The modest apartment was pretty cramped with 11
super-villains, and with no electricity all the food had spoiled, much to
Marsha's chagrin. Reece told her he would fix that later, before erecting
a dome over the suburb and lifting it into space, towards home.

(Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars I#12) - En route to Earth, the Molecule
Man took some personal time to experiment with his newfound powers. The
trip meanwhile drove the villains stircrazy, with the Lizard freaking out
about being so far removed from his native swamp. The Wrecking Crew
decided the best way to deal with this tantrum was by killing him, but
Volcana intervened and calmed the creature down. Just as Molecule Man
teleported in to report his progress, the Enchantress used her magic to
lure Marsha away. Recovering her senses in a nearby glen, Marsha was
shocked to learn the Enchantress intended to collect the favor she owed
her. Amora planned to use Volcana's lifeforce to teleport herself to
Asgard and inform her brethren about the current situation.

Thanks to the Lizard informing Molecule Man about the Enchantress' plan,
Marsha's life could be saved.

(Secret Wars II#1 - BTS) - After returning the suburb of Denver to Earth,
Molecule Man moved in with Marsha. Longing for as quiet and uneventful a
life as possible, they refrained from using their powers as much as
possible. Reece took a job at a local power plant while Marsha started
working part-time at a daycare. They spent most of their nights in front of
the television, enjoying reruns of old sitcoms like F-Troop
and Hogan's Heroes.

(Secret Wars II#1) - Marsha and Owen were enjoying a quiet evening at
home when the arrival of the Beyonder near Denver caused a sudden storm of
debris. Figuring the massive chunks of earth and rock could hurt innocent
people, Marsha turned into her Volcana form and started blasting boulders
from her apartment, not considering her fiery form would set the place on
fire. Molecule Man used his own powers to set things straight, lifting
Marsha up so she could de-power without causing more damage. They then went
out to investigate the continued storm of rocks and boulders but were
stunned to see it was the Beyonder.

While Charles Xavier (who had picked up
the Beyonder's approach telepathically) summoned Earth's
heroes, Owen and Marsha entertained the Beyonder at their apartment. The
Beyonder, who had assumed a form based on an amalgamation of the heroes
and villains he'd assembled on Battleworld, accidentally ruined the couch
but Marsha promised him that was okay, because Owie could fix it later.
She then invited him to join her in watching a Laverne
& Shirley rerun. Not taking her up on that offer, the
Beyonder stated he simply wanted to understand. Unsure of what that meant
and not even looking away from the TV, Marsha suggested the Beyonder went
to Los Angeles, where one could experience everything. After the Molecule
Man showed him the way, he sat down next to Marsha who wondered if the
Beyonder would be okay. Reece told her not to worry.

(Secret Wars II#3 - BTS) - As part of his learning curve on humanity, the
Beyonder decided to use his power to control everyone and everything on
Earth. From people to animals to bacteria, viruses and inanimate objects.

(Secret Wars II#3) - Marsha and Owen were enjoying some popcorn in their
Denver apartment while watching an episode of Three's
Company when Reece noticed the Beyonder had taken control of all
molecules in existence. While Marsha didn't feel any different, Owen
decided to free her anyway. The pair then cuddled while settling on the
couch to wait for F Troop to
start.

(Secret Wars II#4) - Continuing his exploration of humanity, the Beyonder
flew his Lamborghini Contatch a little too close to the White House,
causing him to get fired on by jet planes. Deciding he needed a new ride,
the Beyonder traded his damaged car for one of the F-16 fighter planes and
flew it to Denver to meet with Molecule Man. Marsha couldn't stay and
chat, because she was almost late for her dancercise class. The Beyonder
greeted her as she kissed Owen goodbye.

(Secret Wars II#6 - BTS) - The Beyonder, having now decided the purpose
of his existence should be to act as a champion of life, started fighting
evil, hunger and other natural disasters, gaining quite the reputation as
a hero in the process.

(Secret Wars II#6) - Hoping to surprise Owen, Marsha had been busy
cooking all his favorite foods when Reece came home, slightly concerned
about the Beyonder's new role. While they discussed Owen's worries about
how this would play out, not to mention the fact Owen hadn't replaced the
dead flowers he'd bought her, Marsha forgot to check on dinner and
everything burned. Molecule Man easily corrected this and the two sat down
in front of the television to eat. However, Marsha noticed Owen hardly
touched his food and seemed preoccupied and annoyed. Inquiring what was
wrong, Reece revealed he was aware of the Watcher's presence. For Marsha's
sake, he demanded Uatu showed himself, which the Watcher did. Eager to
speak with Reece, the Watcher was a little disappointed when the Molecule
Man didn't want anything to do with him. Finally, Marsha offered to listen
to what the Watcher had to say. Revealing his concerns regarding the
Beyonder and his current path, Uatu begged the Molecule Man to help save
the Multiverse by stopping the Beyonder before he could undo all that is.

(Secret Wars II#6 - BTS) - Inspired by his follower and PR-agent Dave,
the Beyonder decided that in order to truly become a champion of life, he
should vanquish its greatest foe: Death. After some doing, he managed to
kill Death, guaranteeing no one and nothing could ever die anymore.

(Secret Wars II#7 - BTS) - Determined to end the threat of the Beyonder
after he'd almost killed his mistress Death, the demon lord Mephisto
constructed the Beyondersbane, an engine of destruction operated by
Eternity itself capable of taking out the one from beyond. As the cosmic
forces were moving in place, waiting for the right moment to strike at the
Beyonder, Mephisto delighted in the knowledge that the activation of the
device would secretly cause a third of the known universe to be destroyed.

(Secret Wars II#7) - While Marsha and Owen were playing a game of Trivial
Pursuit with Al and Judy Milgrom, Reece caught a TV news report on the
Beyonder who had now set himself up as a guru on an island in the South
Seas. Excusing himself, Reece went into the bedroom to check on the
current state of the universe. Concerned for his wellbeing, Marsha
followed him in and learned of the current crisis and the fact the
Beyonder wouldn't be aware of what the cosmic forces were planning until
it was too late. Torn by the decision to either warn the Beyonder or do
nothing and hope their plan works, the Molecule Man broke down in tears.
Marsha comforted him, gently reminding him this was hardly the time for
this, after all they had company over. She coaxed him back into the living
room for another round of Trivial Pursuit. Distracted for most of the
evening, Reece relaxed once he sensed the danger had passed (by
the Thing preventing Mephisto's minions from reaching the Beyonder and
activating the
Beyondersbane). However, he did confess to Marsha
that he was worried he'd eventually be dragged into this, despite his
desire to be left alone.

(Secret Wars II#8) - While visiting Marsha and Owen in Denver, the
Beyonder grew so frustrated with his inability to grasp existence in this
Multiverse that he unleashed an energy wave that destroyed several dozen
planets and stars. Calming the Beyonder down while repairing all the
damage he caused, the Molecule Man decided an impromptu counseling session
was needed. Even though Marsha was worried for Reece's wellbeing, Owen
assured her that he'd be perfectly fine. After all he'd been in therapy so
long himself, he knew just what to do. Unfortunately, Owen's ad hoc
attempt at therapy only angered the Beyonder further. He completely
snapped when he saw how lovey dovey Reece and Rosenberg acted. He angrily
declared that as long as there were other things around him, he'd never
feel complete or fulfilled, so the obvious solution was to destroy
everything. Daring the Molecule Man to kill him before he could attempt
this, the Beyonder scoffed at Reece's refusal but agreed to take a day and
think over the proposed destruction of existence.

Even as the Beyonder teleported away and started causing trouble around
the world, Marsha tried to calm Reece who was in a total panic. The
Molecule Man decided to act by using all his powers to create a dome
around all of Denver so the city would survive the universe's end.
However, when the Beyonder happened to notice the dome going up, he mocked
Owen's attempt at keeping him out by shattering the structure. Marsha
comforted Owen, who used his power to prevent the shards from hurting
innocent people.

While the Beyonder continued his rounds and the 24 hour deadline was
near, the frantic Molecule Man realized that he'd never be able to create
a dome powerful enought to keep his enemy out. Marsha meanwhile wondered
if the real reason the Beyonder was acting up could be the fact he was
jealous of the love she and Owen had. Reece was too busy to consider this,
while he tried a new plan: create a tiny, invisible dome for Marsha and
him to live in, hidden in the Beyonder's realm. Finally fed up with her
lover, Marsha told him to stop running, take a stand and fight for what he
believed in. Holding the whimpering Reece to her breast, a grim resolve
came over Marsha who decided to do what she had to do, no matter how much
it'd hurt her lover.

Marsha kept the increasingly nervous Owen company while the deadline
approached. Promising to stand by him, they were on the couch in the
living room when the clock struck 19.53 hours and the Beyonder appeared as
promised. Egged on by Marsha, Reece immediately released several deadly
energy blasts. When his best efforts proved insufficient, Marsha decided
to act and threw herself at the Beyonder's feet. Begging for her life and
offering her womanly services to him, Marsha claimed she never loved Owen
and called him a worm to his face. Disgusted by this display, the Beyonder
pushed her off him. Running away, she told the Beyonder that Owen was his
enemy, and that he should kill him, not her. This drove the fragile Reece
over the edge, falling to the floor in the fetal position, much to the
Beyonder's amusement. Marsha watched from a distance as the Beyonder told
the distraught Molecule Man how this little drama had cheered him up
enough to possibly rethink his decision to wipe out existence. Marsha then
got in her car and drove off, crying about what she'd forced herself to do
for the good of humanity. She figured that if she hadn't acted, the
Beyonder would have killed her Owen. Now, she reasoned to herself, the
Beyonder would no longer be jealous of Reece and leave him alone.

(Secret Wars II#9) - Concerned with who would be able to stop the
Beyonder from destroying the universe, Marsha decided to stop at a
roadside diner and call the Avengers. However, the telephone operator had
trouble understanding her while she was stress eating her way through a
plate of donuts. Figuring she was dealing with a crank call, the operator
was about to hang up on Marsha when she finally finished her donut and
clearly explained the reason for her call. After mentioning the Beyonder
and the Molecule Man, her call was immediately transferred to Avengers
Mansion and picked up by Reed Richards (following
the destruction of the Baxter Building, the FF stayed with the Avengers).
Moments after she finished filling Reed in, Marsha was teleported away.
She reappeared in the Colorado rockies, along with Alpha Flight, the
Avengers East and West Coast, Cloak, Dagger, Daredevil, Hulk, the
Fantastic Four, Power Man, Iron Fist, Spider-Man and the Silver
Surfer, courtesy of the X-Men's Rachel Grey whose powers had been brought
up to Phoenix-levels thanks to the Beyonder. Marsha offered to help out,
shifting into her Volcana form to prove her might. But, after gleaning all
the pertinent information regarding the Beyonder from her mind, Rachel
sent the relatively inexperienced Volcana home. Both Rachel and Reed
concurred that one more or less against the Beyonder would make no
difference.

Reappearing in front of her apartment building, Marsha went inside and
found the place a shambles. Discovering Owen's favorite teddybear ripped to
shreds, she spotted Reece sitting motionless in his chair. Fearing he had
killed himself, Marsha was relieved to find he was just napping. Surprised
by how upbeat and calm he seemed in the midst of all the destruction, Owen
assured her he was fine. In fact, because she left, he was finally forced
to do some soul searching and face the harsh truths about himself and
their relationship. He at last realized that he truly loved her because
that love no longer was based on an insecure need or fear that she might
leave him. Overjoyed, the two shared a quick kiss before Molecule Man told
Marsha they had to join the fight against the Beyonder, because he was the
only one who could end his threat.

Rejoining the heroes outside the Beyonder's base, the Molecule Man took
the fight to the Beyonder and weakened him so Marsha and the other heroes
could actually hurt him. Piling on, the strategy seemed to work until
Molecule Man's strength seemingly proved insufficient. Breaking free, the
Beyonder angrily released a wave of energy that left a giant scar across
the face of the Earth, destabilizing the crust. Owen protected Marsha and
the others from the effects but was left gravely injured. The Beyonder
then used one of his machines to recycle his life energies into that of a
newborn, while Marsha took care of Owen who was left seriously injured as
a result of the fight. Noticing the Beyonder baby, Reece figured this
might be the only chance the heroes would have to rid themselves of the
Beyonder's threat and used his powers to destroy the machine and the
infant in the process. In the aftermath, Marsha and Owen hugged, saddened
but relieved by the fact it was over.

(Avengers I#266 - BTS) - Following the Beyonder's death, the
repercussions of his final outburst became apparent when the Avengers, the
Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer realized the entire planet had been
destabilised beyond the point of no return. When the Silver Surfer proved
incapable of restoring the damage, the heroes considered tracking down the
Molecule Man who had vanished in the confusion after the Beyonder's death.

(Avengers I#266 (fb) - BTS) - The Molecule Man had slipped into an
unexplained coma pretty soon after leaving the heroes. Marsha took him to
a nearby mobile army field hospital, where the doctors couldn't find
anything physically wrong with him. Marsha didn't leave his bedside for an
instant, while she noticed that doctors and army personnel started getting
suspicious.

(Avengers I#266) - After a while, the Molecule Man woke up
and assured Marsha he was merely in need of some rest to recover after
fighting the Beyonder. Marsha filled him in on the situation and assured
Owen they had to get out of there. Using his powers, Reece turned the
tent into a giant hot air balloon that was fuelled by Volcana's ionized
plasma form. Carried away by air currents, the duo figured they'd made
their escape but were quickly spotted by Captain Marvel who appeared on
Owen's bed in holographic form. Captain Marvel (Rambeau) only wanted to talk, but Volcana
became furious when she spotted the same woman who'd once threatened her
lover and fired a bolt of plasma at the Avenger, who instantly vanished.

(Avengers I#266 - BTS) - Captain Marvel reported back to
the Wasp about what she'd learned of Molecule Man and Volcana. Figuring
the only way to get to Reece was by calming Marsha down, Wasp ordered
the Silver Surfer to use the power cosmic to manipulate the winds so
that Reece and Rosenberg's hot air balloon was brought to the heart of
the destruction caused by the Beyonder's fit of rage. There, they found
the Avengers and the Fantastic Four waiting for them.

(Avengers I#266) - Marsha was outraged to see the heroes
and, after a misplaced crack from the Human Torch, refused to listen to
Captain America who tried to explain they merely needed Reece's help.
Unleashing all her power, she attempted to burn the heroes down but was
unable to breach the Invisible Woman's force field. Overcome by the
realization she could never beat them all and feeling she'd failed at
protecting her lover again, Marsha broke down in tears. Comforted by
Captain Marvel and the Silver Surfer, Marsha finally believed the
heroes' intent.

Molecule Man, however, was less than enthused about being
forced to help. Still weakened, he figured the strain of restoring an
entire planet might further injure or even kill him. He briefly toyed
with the idea of refusing to help and merely create a safety pod for
Marsha and himself, but after some doing finally agreed to join forces
with the Silver Surfer to fix the wounded Earth. Captain America
comforted Marsha as the duo began their work.

After restoring every last molecule, it appeared as if Reece had spent
all his power and was now normal again. After the heroes thanked him,
the Silver Surfer flew Marsha and Owen back to their apartment in
Denver. There. much to Marsha's surprise, Reece revealed he had retained
his powers with the Surfer's blessing and merely pretended to be
powerless so he could finally have the ordinary life with her he'd
dreamed of.

(X-Men
and Spider-Man: Time's Arrow: Book Two: The Present) - Lireeb used
agents to recruit Electro, Hydro-Man, the Rhino, Speed Demon,
Taskmaster, Volcana, and the Wrecking Crew. In addition to being sent
to protect the Time Arrows, a couple were sent to assault the X-Men's
Time Displacement Core, which was in the process of being repaired.

(Fantastic Four I#318 - (fb) - BTS) - Figuring Owen Reece
might become aware his scheme to trick the Beyonder into restoring him
to his full potential, Doctor Doom ambushed the unsuspecting Molecule
Man when he and Marsha Rosenberg were visiting New York City. Unleashing
his armor's full power, Doom left Reece broken and comatose before
strong-arming his way into Four Freedoms Plaza to gain access to the
Negative Zone from which he planned to reach the realm of the Beyonder.
When the unconscious Owen Reece was found and rushed to the
hospital, Marsha was alerted about her lover's condition.

(Fantastic Four I#318) - Angry about what had happened and
the doctor's thinly veiled disbelief when she told him Reece was
actually the Molecule Man, Marsha still believed her man would recover.
But, with tears in her eyes, wondered what would happen to the universe
while he was down for the count.

(Fantastic Four I#319) - Marsha was happy to see Owen wake
up from his coma, realizing that his powers had automatically saved him.
While having a discussion with Marsha in a taxi heading downtown, Reece
figured he could use his powers to turn time and space around to see
what had happened to him. After learning it was Doctor Doom who'd
attacked him and the cab driver had thrown them out for pulling that
stunt, Owen shushed Marsha while he tried to grasp just why Doom wanted
him dead.

(Fantastic Four I#319 - BTS) - The Fantastic Four
and Doctor Doom had reached the Beyonder's dimension and, after some
initial mishaps, got the one from beyond calm enough for Doom to ask his
favor. The Beyonder was about to honor his old enemy's request, when the
Shaper of Worlds and Kubik appeared and ordered him not to do it.
Unwilling to be bossed around, the Beyonder attacked the two powerful
entities but found himself struggling to match their might.

(Fantastic Four I#319) - Molecule Man and Volcana appeared
in the Beyonder's dimension, to the surprise of the FF and Doom, who
realized Reece was on to him. However, the duo openly joined forces with
the Beyonder and attacked Kubik. This angered the Shaper, who briefly
turned Volcana into a a mindless plasmatic blob before Owen could
restore and protect her, along with Doom and the FF. Taken aback by the
quick turn of events, Volcana nevertheless tried to assure the others
that she trusted her Owie, after all he could do anything. Annoyed by
this, Doom pointed out that the same was true for all the other players
involved.

The conflict came to an abrupt end when the Shaper pointed
out the war had become pointless. The Molecule Man agreed, stating that
he came to prevent them from killing the Beyonder and to make sure the
Beyonder didn't restore Doom's mind and memories so he could potentially
become even more dangerous. Upon the Thing's request, the Shaper of
Worlds then told Marsha and the others the origin of the Beyonders (the mysterious race the FF had been
searching for at the time). Over the course of the story,
Molecule Man and Beyonder realized that not only were the Beyonders
responsible for the creation of Cosmic Cubes, the accident that gave
Reece his superpowers actually punctured a hole in the Beyonder's realm
which caused Cosmic Cube energies to empower him. Shocked to learn they
were really two parts of an unformed Cosmic Cube, Reece and the Beyonder
figured the only course of action was to reunite. Before doing so, Owen
and Marsha had a tearful goodbye as Marsha watched how her lover and the
Beyonder formed into a newly formed Cosmic Cube. The Shaper allowed Doom
to use the cube briefly to restore his mind, but then returned him,
Marsha and the FF to Four Freedoms Plaza, while he and Kubik took
custody over the cube. Even though She-Thing offered to console her,
Marsha assured her she'd always been stronger than Owen and would be
okay, even as she ran off crying.

(Fantastic Four I#319 - BTS) - Unbeknownst to anyone, the
Molecule Man left a bit of his power to Volcana when he was merging with
the Beyonder.

(Fantastic Four Annual I#23/2 (fb) - BTS) - Having
witnessed the Molecule Man and the Beyonder's evolution into a Cosmic
Cube, Doctor Doom deduced that the sensitive, empathic Reece would never
have just left Marsha Rosenberg. Figuring Reece would have made sure she
was well taken care of, Doom decided to activate the sensors he'd
planted inside her as he started monitoring her whereabouts.

(Fantastic Four Annual I#24/2 - BTS) - For unknown
reasons, the Cosmic Cube he had helped form discarded Owen Reece and
returned him to Earth. Now powerless, he holed up inside the Denver
apartment he'd once shared with Marsha Rosenberg. Reece found the
apartment empty.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#88/4) - Dragged to New York for
a holiday of fun and shopping by her old friend Roxanne "Annie" Arnold,
Marsha was still feeling lousy about losing Owen. This caused the
wish fulfilment power inside her to create a distraction: the Wizard
(Bentley Wittman) experienced a sudden drop in power levels and
accidentally razed by, knocking over Annie. Excited, Marsha figured
fighting him was just the thing to get her mind off Owie. She followed
the super-villain as Volcana and watched him enter an electronics store.
Before she could figure out what he was up to, Volcana fired a plasma
blast at him. Forced to retaliate (while
all he came in for were some batteries), the Wizard shot
Volcana who struck back and accidentally torched the entire store.
Needlessly fearing she might have killed her opponent, the Wizard
emerged unscathed thanks to his force field. He then trapped her inside
a typhoon sphere that caused her to twirl around helplessly, causing
Marsha to briefly lose consciousness. When she came to, she snuck up on
the Wizard and knocked him upside the head with a crowbar. Furious and
in pain, the Wizard called her an obese cow and fired his wrist blasters
point blank at her. Countering the beam with her own plasma blasts,
Marsha kept pouring on power until the Wizard decided to leave before
his armor lost power completely. Pleased with her victory despite the
massive collateral damage, Marsha sat around thinking she prevented him
from doing something evil (a few
hours later, the Wizard went to another electronics store and
dutifully paid for the batteries he was after).

(Fantastic
Four Annual I#23/2) - Moments after the fight against the Wizard ended,
Volcana was detained by the police who wanted to know what had caused
the destruction. After explaining what had happened and apologizing for
the mess, the police officer told her it was a miracle no one got hurt,
except for a woman who had gotten trampled when the crowd fled the
scene and was taken to Mercy Hospital. Instantly realizing her friend
Annie was the woman in question, Marsha was ready to rush off when the
officer volunteered to give her a ride there, giving them a chance to
finish her deposition on the way. When Marsha refused because powering
down would mean revealing her true identity, the officer gave her a gas
mask to wear while he drove her over. Once there, Marsha felt so guilty
about causing her friend harm, she couldn't get out of the car and
asked the policeman to go in and check on Annie. While Doctor Doom
arrived to monitor the spike in energies he had picked up, Marsha's
guilt activated the Molecule Man's gift, which resulted in Annie
getting cured, along with every other patient in the emergency room
plus Karla Sofen, the supervillain Moonstone who was paralyzed
following a fight against Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau). Healed,
Sofen immediately turned into Moonstone and broke through the wall.
When Volcana and the police officer accompanying her spotted Moonstone,
the officer fired at her, which irked Soften. As Doom watched and
noticed Reece's energies at work, Rosenberg pushed the officer out of
harm's way and, instead of turning into plasma, suddenly assumed a new,
durable form made from solid volcanic rock. Moving their battle to an
abandoned construction yard, Marsha learned her new body granted her
superstrength and used this to caught Moonstone off guard, knocking her
out and tying her up, ready for police pick up.

(Fantastic Four Annual I#23/2 - BTS) - After witnessing
Volcana in action, Doom concluded that Owen Reece had bestowed a
fragment of his wish granting Cosmic Cube-fuelled powers on her. Volcana
unconsciously activated them whenever she was experiencing negative
emotions, such as the guilt over Annie's injuries. Determined to use
this to his advantage, Doom planned to turn Marsha to his will.

(Fantastic Four Annual I#24/2) - Returning to Denver after
their trip to New York, Marsha said goodbye to Annie before visiting her
old apartment to collect her belongings. To her surprise, she found Owen
there. After a heartfelt reunion, Marsha wondered why he didn't try to
contact her or even her mother, to which Reece replied that he didn't
want to intrude on the new life she might have made for herself. Their
heart to heart was cut short when A.I.M. sent in their new super-villain
operative Klaw to collect Molecule Man. Marsha fought the master of
sound in both her volcanic rock and fiery form, but proved unable to
best the far more experienced villain until her wishing powers granted
her a third form, in which she turned to sentient volcanic ash. When
Klaw eventually overcame her new powers as well, Marsha looked at the
de-powered Owen and wished he still had his powers so he could help her
out. This subconscious desire caused her wishing powers to shift into
high gear, fully empowering Owen back to his former glory as the
Molecule Man. However, during the fight Marsha noticed he had changed,
the soft and gentle man she'd fallen for was ready to kill Klaw. After
getting knocked out and coming to in her restored apartment, Marsha
dragged the truth out of Reece, who admitted that he initially didn't
seek her out because he felt unworthy of her without his powers.
Confused and startled by the new sides to his personality, their
discussion was cut short when Marsha's mother and her brother and sister
knocked on the door. Marsha told Owen he'd better go, after all her
family didn't know he'd returned. Honoring her wishes, Reece swore he
was going to prove himself worthy of her love. Fighting back her tears
as he flew off, Marsha collected herself and mentally bid her lover
adieu before answering the door.

(Fantastic Four I#372 - BTS) - Still trying to win her
back, Owen Reece had created a sculpture garden filled with likenesses
of Marsha Rosenberg. Lovingly molding rock into Volcana, the Molecule
Man was left vulnerable to the mental dominance of the Puppet Master who
used him for one of his own schemes.

(Avengers Unplugged#4 - BTS) - Marsha, having lost a
significant amount of weight, decided to attend the wedding of Titania
and the Absorbing Man in New York, unaware her former lover Owen Reece
had also been invited.

(Avengers Unplugged#4) - Waiting at city hall for the
bride to arrive, and wearing a seductive black dress, Volcana and the
other guests (all super-villains) looked on as She-Hulk barged in after
she spotted her arch-nemesis Titania across the street. The villains
ganged up on the emerald giantess and threw her out. After things had
calmed down a bit, Absorbing Man wanted to check on his bride, but
Volcana told him she'd do it, after all it would be bad luck for the
bride and groom to see each other before the wedding. Making her way
upstairs, Marsha mistook the blonde Avenger Crystal for Titania but
quickly recovered and threw a bolt of plasma at her. Unaware of
Crystal's elemental powers, Volcana was stunned when the Avenger
diverted the lava ball. When it seemed that Crystal had Marsha on the
ropes, Hydro-Man decided to help out but the Inhuman elemental simply
used the watery villain to douse Volcana's flames. She was finally
defeated by the Molecule Man, much to Marsha's delight. However, he
coldly rebuffed her warm greetings, telling her not to expect even a
smile from the man she'd driven out of her life months ago. Wistfully,
Marsha thought to herself she'd come on too strong. After the fight
against the Avengers had concluded, Volcana and the other guests watched
as Titania and the Absorbing Man exchanged vows.

(Incredible Hulk II#442 - BTS) - Still not over his
feelings for Volcana, the Molecule Man kidnapped superhero psychiatrist
Dr. Leonard Samson and wanted to pick his brain over the best way to
deal with his emotions. When the She-Hulk came looking for Samson, Owen
accidentally mistook her for Marsha. Quickly realizing his error, Reece
fought the two gamma powered heroes before calming down and getting some
proper advice. Realizing the key to his personal happiness was trying to
win Marsha back, he left and went to Mount Rushmore to carve Marsha's
face alongside those of the past presidents.

(Incredible Hulk II#442) - Not suspecting a thing, Marsha was watching TV
and got the shock of her life when the news reported the appearance of
her face on Mount Rushmore.

(Fear Itself: The Worthy#1 - (fb) - BTS) - At Farnum
Observational Facility in Upstate New York, Titania was being examined
by Doctor Wooster, a psychiatrist who reviewed Skeeter's early years in
Denver. However, MacPherran turned out to see the events from her past
in a decidedly different light. According to Titania, she was just
having fun with Marsha when she pretended to be Spider-Woman, which
Rosenberg then misunderstood and told half the city. However, she
believed all these experiences actually helped her on her path to her
destiny: Becoming Titania. In her mind, she was the one Doctor Doom
truly wanted because he knew she was special, while Marsha was only
brought along as an afterthought. She went on to say how Doom commented
on how graceful and strong she was, enduring the painful transformation
process with no visible sign of discomfort while Marsha next to her was
writhing and shrieking in agony. Done with her trip down memory lane,
Titania declared her fight was just starting as she punched through a
wall and took off.

(She-Hulk
III#11) - Volcana and Titania were hired by Nightwatch (Kevin Trench)
to keep She-Hulk away from documents that incriminated Trench. They
attacked She-Hulk,
but were quickly defeated by her and Hellcat (Patsy Walker) with a
little help from She-Hulk's secretary Angie Huang and her supernatural
monkey Hei Hei. After Hellcat beat on Volcana with a tire iron Huang
used her mystic powers to redirect Volcana's fireblast on the
villainess herself. The fireblast melted Volcana.

It's hard not to feel sympathetic to a
decent, sweet and perhaps somewhat simple minded character like Marsha
Rosenberg. Still, even after 25+ years, I don't know if the scene in Secret Wars II#7 where Marsha
forces the Molecule Man to keep playing Trivial Pursuit with Al &
Judy Milgrom while the universe is about to die is either insanely
stupid or brilliant satirical commentary on the genre's reliance on
ever present crises of decidedly inflated importance. Then again, this
is Secret Wars II, the comic that had its jheri curled protagonist
provide recaps while dodging fighter planes as he flew a Lamborghini over
the White House, dicing carrots in his built in Cuisinart. With
threats like that, it's a wonder the universe lived, even when the
second most powerful mortal was stuck answering a question about New
York landmarks and Donald Duck.

But man... Jim Shooter sure played up Volcana's zaftig shape
when he wrote her during the first two Secret
Wars limited series. Just about everyone she ran into had some
crack to make about her weight, as the considerable list of aliases and
nicknames shows. And, if someone didn't comment on her size, she was
seen stuffing donuts, potato chips or popcorn in her mouth like there
was no tomorrow (which, given the Beyonder's involvement, wasn't that
unthinkable). Sure, she wasn't super model thin, and yes, you can hardly
hide anything when your costume is basically a pink bathing suit... But
c'mon, she wasn't that fat. Hindsight is 20/20, compared to what we
consider obese these days, Marsha wouldn't even qualify. Still, it's
interesting to see how society's definitions on certain issues tend to
shift and change, almost imperceptibly. For another example, check out
this 1986 episode of Designing Women, in which
one of the women who design decides to date what everyone then
considered to be a grotesquely fat guy. Is he really, that big by
today's standards? Also: Designing
Women star Delta Burke looks like a dead ringer for Marsha.
--While reading the profile, I had planned to make a
comparison between Marsha and the younger Delta Burke...Marsha is a full
figure girl...or what was referred to as voluptuous (or "volumptuous"), but
she's bare (or not even) overweight by any sensible standard...certainly not
obese. Comic books and Barbie and enhancement surgeries make the petit women
with large breasts...not quite as common without one of those three
reality-interventions. Marsha was pretty much just realistic, instead of the
teenage sci-fi/fantasy we so commonly see. Marsha's not really a lot bigger
proportionately than someone like Katy Perry, who is curvaceous, but still
pretty hot by most standards.

While Volcana was present at the heroes' big showdown
against the Beyonder in Secret Wars
II#9, she only interacted with Rachel Grey and Reed Richards.
That's why I've decided to leave out the 30+ other heroes as
affiliations.

The covers to Marvel
Super Heroes Secret Wars#6 & 7 showed Volcana flying,
though she never exhibited this ability. In fact, that she couldn't fly
to Owen in #7 was the reason she sold her soul to the Enchantress in the
first place.

Volcana
also appeared as part of Marvel's all-ages retelling of famous
storylines, which added following information. It is unknown whether
these events occurred on Earth-616 as well:(Spider-Man & The Secret Wars#2 (fb) ) - Over the
course of several days, Doctor Doom made repeated trips to Denver to
interview Marsha, Mary and unrevealed others to see if they possessed
the required skills and personality to join his army. Doom's visits were
noticed by Marsha's neighbors Hubert and Julia.

(Spider-Man & The Secret Wars#2) - Visiting Denver
to inform the population of the current situation, Spider-Man and the
Thing encountered Hubert and Julia who told them of Doom's appearances
and showed how the villain was having lunch with Mary and Marsha on the
roof of the latter's apartment.

Later, Doom confronted the two heroes on the street,
flanked by the women. Their conversation was cut short when a group of
arachnid aliens from a neighboring planetpiece, nicknamed the Spindles,
tried to take the city. Despite their lack of powers, Marsha and Mary
fought off the invaders alongside Doom, who was suitably impressed by
their display of bravery and selected them for his army. The duo
accompanied him back to his headquarters Doombase.

Volcana received entries in the Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition I#2 and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
II#14